NPA defends Willie Hofmeyr

The National Prosecuting Authority has leaped to the defence of corruption buster Willie Hofmeyr, countering an attack on him by multimillionaire businessman Dave King.

The NPA yesterday described King's open letter this week, in which he accused Hofmeyr of corruption and grandstanding, as "false and misleading in numerous respects".

King has accused Hofmeyr of corruption.

On Monday, he wrote an open letter in which he accused Hofmeyr of grandstanding before the media and said a reconciliation of Hofmeyr's achievements would demonstrate a reality well short of the self-promotion he attributed to the head of the Special Investigating Unit.

Hofmeyr has accused the businessman of trying to save his skin by making groundless charges against him.

King is facing charges involving tax evasion and corruption.

The King accusations were made as Hofmeyr fights charges by union members in his office who have accused him of improperly authorising an additional expenditure of R3-million as part of the R14-million upgrading of the unit's offices. Hofmeyr has denied the allegation.

The accusations levelled against Hofmeyr have caused tensions in the NPA, with some members accusing their boss, Menzi Simelane, of "hanging Hofmeyr out to dry".

This week, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe entered the fray and called a meeting of himself, Simelane and Hofmeyr.

According to Radebe's spokesman, Tlali Tlali, the minister's meeting is intended to help him understand the reasons for the tensions between Simelane and Hofmeyr.

By yesterday the meeting had still not taken place and Tlali said he will release a statement as soon as the three have met.

In private correspondence with the NPA, which King has made public despite a court interdict, he alleges that the NPA offered him the option of paying a R200-million fine and not go to jail for tax irregularity charges, or pay no fine but plead guilty to fraud.

NPA spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said in a statement that King's "open letter" was "written with blatant disregard for the high court order".

"We are, therefore, unable to comment on the content of the plea and sentence negotiations save for saying that the decisions taken by the NPA in regard to his plea proposals, and their rejection, were taken by the NPA executive committee, and not by Mr Hofmeyr alone.

"Mr King is interdicted from disclosing the content of the plea and sentence negotiations. It was agreed with his senior counsel, who conducted all the negotiations on his behalf, that all the negotiations between the parties would be held on a confidential and without prejudice basis," Mhaga said.